Curl forming device



Sept, 23, 1952 E. HOFFMANN ETAL I ,6

CURL FORMING DEVICE Fil ed Aug. 2, 1950 INVENTORS.

.Erneui' Wmann} by 62282 am IATTORNEYJ.

Patented Sept. 23, 1952 UNITED STAT CURL FORMING DEVICE Ernest Hoffmann and Claude D. Gresham, 3 Omaha, Nebr., assignors to Tip-Top Products Company, Omaha, Nebr., a corporation of v 1 Nebraska Application August 2, 1950, Serial No. 177,265

The present invention relates to a curl forming device of a type commonly referredto as a .Clip because of the simplicity of its construction which permits it to be clipped onto a wound curl after the same is rolled. It will be understood that this device is usefulnnder the u ual circumstances where the. hair is moistened for the for- ,4 Claims. (01.132-46) mation of curls, either at home or in professional beauty establishments, the curls being retained by a number of 'these'clips until dry, whereby the curls are then set in a more or .lesspermanent condition. The device pf the present invention is useful in the rapid and simple setting of curls at home, or in conjunction with more elaborate or scientific hair treatments in the establishments referred to.

A principal object of the invention is to provide such a device which willmold and retain the curls in an outwardly presented concave formation, without any lateral distortion of the formed curl which hasbeen an undesirable characteristic of the curls formed by similar devices known in the prior art.

As indicated above, clips for the above purposes have not been satisfactory, and we have found that prior art devices have failed, because it has not been heretofore recognized that it is the symmetrical appearance of the inside of the curl that provides the attractive effect-from the standpoint of appearance. That is, we have found that it isnot enough toset a curl inv circular form, without recognizing that each' strand of hair should be held in the natural symmetrical spiral formation which it can assume without distortion by an improperly designed clamp, and in the use of the present invention, thecurls are formed with the individual strands of hair retained in symmetrical spiral condition. providing curls having interiors of an unusual vortexlike appearance."

We have found that curls of the desirabletype referred to may best beformed by employing a forming device which has an outside guide or die which enters the exterior concave side of the curl and which permits the curl to expand while the individual strands of hair are retained in symmetrical spiral formation. When the curl is wound in a tight condition, in the usual way, the

device of the presentinvention may be applied while permitting this tight curl to expand so that the outside of the curl is given an attractive whirl or vortex appearance. Prior art devices were designed generally on the assumption that the curl should be dealt with as an open ring, rather than as a cone, and: no attempt was made to properly form thecurl throughout its entire area from its exterior in to the center of thecurL- r Referring to the drawings, which disclose a. design of curl formin device which accomplishes the above objectives:

Flg. 1 is a top plan view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the curl forming device.

Fig 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device taken along the line 4-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig l, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view, showing the manner in which a curl is formed and retained by the die of this device.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the device comprises a pair of pivoted arms, consisting of a lower, arm L and an upper arm U. The lower arm at its hinged .end has opposite inside upwardly extending ears IE1 and the upper arm has cooperating outside downwardly extending ears l2. When the arms are assembled to one another, a suitable pivot pm Hi is provided, extending through the ears, and the two arms are pivoted for opening and'closing movement on this'pin, as iswell known in the art. The upper arm may be bent upwardly at the hinged end, as at I6, providing with the end l8 of the lower arm, a finger gripping portion of the 'devicewhereby upon application of pressure, the upper arm may be displaced from the lower arm, to apply the device to a wound curl. In order to hold the arms in curl clamping position, as shownin Figs. 3 and 4, a conventional leaf-spring 20 may be provided, extending inwardly around the pivot pin l4 and contacting the inside faces of the flngerportions l6 and I8. I

Referring to Fig. 2 the lower arm comprises a pair of spaced longitudinally extending members 22 and, and as shown in Fig.1, the upper arm likewisemay be said to consist of apa'ir of spaced members, but these members are interrupted substantially centrauy oft-heir' length by jadie C which enlarges the widthof the upper arm'in order to substantially "fill the outwardly. present ed concave center of the curl,'as' wound.

Specifically, and referring tQ'FigS. 1 and5,'the longitudinal members of the upper arm are centrally widened by outwardlyextendin circular ledges 26, and these ledges constitute the base of an inwardiy bentfcurved cone-likestructure 28 (Fig; 5) which terminates ina relatively small opening 38.near the apex, and at the point 30, the lower end of the die passes inwardly between the members 22 and 24' and contacts. the inside edges thereof. i 1

'In order to provide for complete ventilation for the formed curl, the die is provided with a numberof circularopenings or vents 32, and, of

3 course, the upper and lower arms are of generally open construction, as is apparent in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be evident that the die is located substantially at the midpoint of the length of the upper arm U, and between the die and the ends of this arm the mate rial thereof is curved upwardly to a slight extent, as indicated at 34 and 36, so that the cut side ring portion of the curl may be retained between the arms without distortion thereof.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be evident that the upper arm is of the same width as the lower arm, except at that central connecting point COD-Stir tuted by the die C, where the upper arm is substantially wider than the lower arm. Because ofthe central dispositionof the die C, the hair confining areas on opposite sides; thereof are of substantially equal length, and the upper arm is so formed between the die and the endsthereof, that the enlarged hair confining areas on opposite sides of the die are of substantially equal height.

As previously stated, some attempts have been made in the prior art to avoid undesirable lateral distortion of the formed curl, for instance, by making the upper arm relatively narrow at a central Point, as compared with the width of the lower arm or with the width of the main portion of the upper arm, but such attempts have resulted in a clamp which fails to provide any inside support for the curl. In our construction, we make the central or die portion of the upper arm. wider than adjacent portions of the arms, whereby thereis a continuous inside support for the curl through 360, this inside support being of a curved'tapering nature as previously referred to. While continuous support throughout 360 is provided for the curl whileit'is setting, no harmca'n be. done to the hairbecause of lack of circulation, the die portion ofthe device being apertured as indicated, to provide such circulation- The operation and advantages of' this device areapparent from the above description. A head of curls of whirling efiectmay be produced using these devices to mold the curls while they are, naturally drying, or when subjected to the action of adrier, after any well known type of hair. treatment. When a curlis wound on the finger in they usual way, the insideistrands of hair are usually drawn into tight'turns and the turns usually gradually increase in diameter outwardly, one turn being generally wound outwardly of, the other around the finger. When a curl is thus formed, the die of the present device applies just the proper'pressure from center to periphery, in order not to disturb the symmetrical spiral arrangement of the individual strands of hair. It may be said that the curl is expanded by the die, or that it expands itself when it is released after winding, depending on the bulk of the hair in a particular curl. The die establishes, forms and retains the inside wall of the curl with the individual strands of hair in the symmetrical spiral arrangement referred to. While the die establishes and retains the inside shape of the curl, depending on the bulk of hair wound in a particular curl, the curl may yield outwardly when the device is applied, within the limits of the confining areas of the upper arm, but the interior of the curl is retained in its molded form without distortion.

We claim:

1. A curl forming device comprising lower and upper arms pivoted together at one end of the device and having means for yieldingly urging said arms toward one another, said upper arm having a curl forming die intermediate its ends to enter the center of a wound curl and being upwardly arched on opposite sides of said die to embrace the outside of the formed curl, said die being of cup-like form with a relatively small downwardly presented base portion and a relatively wide upwardly presented lip portion, said base portion having a central opening extending therethrough and said lip portion being of diameter greater than the width of said lower arm, saiddie having an upwardly and outwardly flaring substantially continuous curved side wall sloped for expansion of the inside of the curl with the individual strands of hair arranged in symmetrical spirals.

2. A curl forming device comprising lower and upper arms pivoted together at one endoi'the device and having means for yieldingly urging said arms toward one another, said upper arm having a curl forming die intermediate its ends to enter the center of a wound curl and having upwardly curved arched portions on opposite sides of said die to embrace the outside ot'the formed curl, said die being of downwardly and inwardly tapering form and having an upwardly and outwardly flaring curved wall which merges into said arched portions and which is sloped for expansion of the inside of the curl with the individual strands of hair arranged in symmetrical spirals.

3. A curl forming device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said die has a base at its upper end which is of diameter greater than the width of said upper arm, and a continuous curved surface between its lower and upper ends with openings through said surface for the circulation of air.

4. A curl forming device comprising lower and upper arms pivoted together at one end of the device and having means for yieldingly urging said arms toward one another, said, upper arm having a curl forming die intermediate its ends to enter the center of a wound curl and having upwardly curved arched portions on opposite sides of said die to embrace the outside of the ERNESTHOFFMANN. CLAUDE D. GRESHAM.

REFERENGES- CITED The following references are'of record in the file oi this patent: 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS.

Number Name Date.

' 1,982,767 Solomon Dec. 4, 1934 2,107,348 Sdlomon Feb. 8, 1938 2,325,315' Haberman July 27, 1943 2,400,488 Cochran May 21, 1946 2,426,258 Casazza, Sr. Aug. 26, 1947 

